Muscle Building foods does NOT have to be boring…I guarantee, try this out and you will have your proof

Makes 1 Serving (3 Big Muffins)

Directions

1. In a blender, mix all the ingredients (except for crushed pecan). Blend until the
mix gets thick.

2. Add the crushed pecan to the mix and stir (with a
spoon or a spatula)

3. Poor the mix in a muffin cooking pan, and cook at 350
degrees F. until cooked (About 30 minutes).

Quick Tip:

You can cook a big batch and freeze the muffins. Then just
microwave the muffins when needed…

Is eating carbohydrates at night acceptable? Or should you forgo them at all costs? And, what if you happen to be doing a workout late at night?

Are they then allowed or should you still avoid them to prevent fat gain?

Let’s look at the important facts that you need to know regarding carbohydrates late at night.

The Workout Timing Factor

The very first thing that you should always keep in mind regarding your carbohydrate intake is that for best results, you always want to try and place them right around the workout as much as possible.

This is when the muscles are most likely to store them in the cells as muscle glycogen and when they’re least likely to end up on your body as excess body fat.

Now, for those who are working out late at night, this poses a special scenario.  Since you want to maximize your carbohydrate intake, this would mean taking in a huge dose of carbs before bed.

Will this create a problem?

The answer is only if your total daily carb intake exceeds what it is supposed to be.  Meaning, put those carbs right after the workout as you normally would despite the fact that it is late at night, but also be sure to cut back on the carbs you consume during the day because of it.

If you do this, then you will prevent fat gain and still maximize the benefits that carbs have to offer at that time period.

If you workout earlier on in the day, then place the carbs earlier around that workout and shift your focus later on to proteins, healthy fats, and vegetables.

Off Day Carb Intakes In The Evening

Moving along, off days also need to be taken into account.  Since you will have a lower overall carbohydrate need on the days you aren’t working out, your intake should be reduced.

On off days, you should try and keep your carbohydrate intake more limited in the late night hours to prevent not only fat gain but hunger as well.  For many people carbs evoke hunger, so when trying to keep your calorie intake lower since you aren’t working out, this could pose a bit of a problem.

After about 7 pm, start cutting off your carbs and allow only vegetables or possibly a few berries if you’re craving something sweet.  This will keep your intake right around where it should be so you don’t run into issues with fat gain.

Smarter Solutions

In order to make cutting off carbs at night easier, it’s a wise idea to come up with some smarter solutions for what to snack on.

Raw veggies in a flavorful dip are always a great idea if you’re craving something crunchy, or if it’s a sweet taste that you’re after, consider some sugar-free Jell-O.  This really saves the day for many dieters, so make sure you don’t overlook it.

Smarter pre-bed snack choices will be proteins mixed with healthy fats as well, so don’t discount snack options that satisfy this requirement such as cottage cheese with some peanut butter or Greek yogurt with flaxseeds.

So there you have the important points to remember about carbohydrates at night.  While the common sense approach to start restricting them usually holds true, in some cases where you’re doing intense late night workouts, you need to make an acceptation and structure your days slightly differently to accommodate.

How do you split your carbs during the day? Late at night? Throughout the day? Around a workout?

You’ve got chicken, eggs, fish, lean red meat, and low-fat dairy products all covered and have evenly distributed these throughout your day.
But, one high quality source of protein that far too many people completely overlook is that of pork.

Not only is pork a great source of protein, but it’s good for your overall health as well.
Let’s have a quick look at a few of the important facts to know about pork.

Why People Avoid Pork

So why is it that pork is often forgotten about anyway?

The most common reason why people often shun pork is simply because they think it’s far too high in fat to be eating and figure it will cause them to gain excess body weight.

This has been promoted in the media to a very high degree so most people are under the influence that this is actually the case.

Only it’s not – not if you choose wisely.

The Nutritional Profile Of Pork

When you choose leaner cuts of pork, it’s actually a fantastic source of protein with 24 grams per 3 oz serving. In addition to this, it also only contains a mere 3 grams of fat, just up from that of chicken and only 127 calories.

To add to these positive nutritional stats, pork is also a terrific source of iron as it supplies you with over 100% of your daily requirements and is also rich in vitamin B12, vitamin B6, thiamine, niacin, selenium, zinc, phosphorus, riboflavin, potassium, as well as magnesium.

All in all, you simply can’t afford to miss out on the nutrition benefits of pork.

Eating On The Cheap

Another very great benefit of adding more pork to your diet is the fact that it’s incredibly cheap. When compared with other protein sources such as chicken, fish, or seafood, pork is priced much, much lower.

For those who are on food budgets, this makes it a great regular addition to your diet. If you have protein requirements that move over the 200 grams per day mark, it can get quite pricey putting your diet together.

Pork will help take the sting out of your grocery bill.

So next time you’re getting set to go grocery shopping to pick up your weekly food supply, make sure that pork finds its way onto your list. Far too many people are completely overlooking what this food has to offer and are not only missing out on nutrition, but taste and variety as well.

The more variety you can get into your diet program, the easier you’ll find it is to follow it and the less likely you’ll be tempted to cheat and go in for that cheeseburger or order up a pizza – both of which definitely aren’t a healthy addition to your muscle building or fat loss diet plan.

Any of you ever try pork? Did you like it?

Now for those of you who already have one here is a recipe for you below that was specifically created for the slow cooker. This one tastes great! Just get it started in the AM and get ready for a fine meal later on at night.

If you don’t have a slow cooker yet, what are you waiting for? Here is the exact ones I have (yes I have two )

Click here (under $20) –> Small Slow Cooker-

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Click here (under $30) –> Large Slow Cooker

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They are currently both on sale over at Amazon if you wanted to get it hassle free with fast shipping…my preferred choice.

Alright, for those of you who have one, here it is…for those of you who don’t, get one then come back to the blog

Slow-Cooked Roast

Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Beef Roast (Top Round)
• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Onions, chopped
• 1 Carrot, chopped
• 1 Celery Stalk, chopped
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 can Plum Tomatoes (with juice)
• 1/2 cup Dry Red Wine
• 1 teaspoon Sage
• 1 teaspoon Rosemary
• 1 cup Low-Sodium Beef Broth
• Salt and Pepper
• Something else?

Directions

1. Place the roast in a Slow-Cooker.
2. In a big bowl, mix all the other ingredients.
2. Pour the mixture in the slow cooker
3. Cook the Roast for 4 hours or until cooked.

Turn the meat occasionally, test doneness with a fork.

This is a recipe right out of Anabolic Cooking. I like to give out good recipes for you so that you can enjoy it yourself and see the potential Anabolic Cooking can have in your own life. Enjoy.

For more recipes, check out Anabolic Cooking the actual full cookbook by clicking the banner below.

Dave

Let’s face it, life is busy.

You have a million and one things that you have to try and get through and spending hours in the kitchen doesn’t exactly rank high on your priority list.

But, maintaining a lean and defined body does, so you have to find a way around this problem. Surely there’s some method that you can use to slash your meal prep time without having to sacrifice good nutrition? Fortunately there is and that’s the secret I’m going to share with you today.

The secret that I’m referring to is using a slow cooker. This one simple cooking tool can easily take away hours of work each week and get you out of the kitchen and going about your day.Let’s have a quick look at why slow cooking is such a great method to prepare your muscle building foods so you can get it clear in your mind why it’s a must-do for success.

Accommodates Any Skill Level

The very first benefit to using a slow cooker is the fact that this will be perfect for chef’s of all skill levels. Even if you’ve never done any cooking before in your life, believe me, you can slow cook.

All you have to do is toss the ingredients into the slow cooker, turn it on, and you’re done. It’s fast, easy, and can be done right in the morning before you go to work so that by the time you come home, your house smells of the delicious meal you have ready to go on your kitchen counter.

Cooks Foods in a More Healthy Manner

A second big reason why using a slow cooker is such a smart move is because it’s going to help cook foods incredibly healthfully. While with other cooking techniques you’ll often have to add oils or butter to retain the moisture of your foods, with slow cooking this will be completely unnecessary.

There will be no need to add any high calorie sauces or fats so you can keep the dish chalk full of nutrients while leaving out the calories that you don’t need.

In fact, as the meat in your dish begins to cook the juices will often come out of it, therefore helping to add extra moisture to the meal rather than drying it out like other cooking methods do. This also means that the dish you’re preparing is going to be extra high in flavor as well.

Is Great For Large Batches

Okay, so I’m going to dish out another secret time saver here – pre-preparing your food. That’s right, rather than cooking each individual meal each time you need to eat, consider preparing a huge batch of one dish and then freezing it for later use. With a slow-cooker, this will be incredibly easy. (ok, so maybe the picture here is a LITTLE unrealistic, but a guy can dream right?)

Since slow cookers are quite large in size, it’s very easy to triple up on your food servings so that you can easily prepare enough meals to last a few dinners rather than having to make each one fresh itself.

This way when you aren’t in the mood for any cooking at all, you just toss that frozen meal all ready to go in the microwave (or heat it in a pot) and you’ll be eating in minutes.

So as you can see, you definitely must try out a slow cooker today if you’ve never done so. Its one form of cooking technique that will make sticking with a healthy diet incredibly easy and you’ll fall in love with the delicious taste of the meals that come out of it.

What are some of your favorite muscle building foods to cook in the slow-cooker?

Blueberries are packed with antioxidants.

Antioxidants carry a large number of health benefits. After a workout, a period of stress or illness, your body goes through oxidative stress in which electrons are taken from substances during a chemical reaction. After this process has taken place, we are left with a nasty little thing known as a free radical. Free radicals are basically unstable oxygen atoms.

Free radicals don’t want to be unstable and they will try to find another electron in order to balance themselves out. Free radicals won’t even stop at stealing an electron from one of your body’s cells. In essence, free radicals therefore cause your body to rust on the inside.

Having too many of these free radicals in your body has been linked to a number of diseases, even if it’s not the exact or single cause. Even the most simple of “diseases” is caused by free radicals – aging. We age more quickly with an increase in free radicals. Cancer and Alzheimer’s disease are also both linked with these mischievous substances.

There isn’t a lot we can do about preventing free radicals since they are produced with almost every part of being alive. Working out is one of the biggest producers of these substances and so is any form of stress. Smoking, pollution and eating sugary foods are all attributed with free radical producing properties and any activity that increases your oxygen intake is culpable as well.

Free radicals aren’t entirely useless and we actually need them to survive. They attack germs as well and are very useful in producing energy. However, we don’t want too many of them and that’s where anti-oxidants are very handy. Foods such as blueberries that contain a lot of these anti-oxidants are what’s needed to prevent the surplus production of free radicals.

Anti-oxidants, such as blueberries, are really quite simple; they give an electron to the unstable free radical atoms. Even though your body can produce a certain number of anti-oxidants, you still need to get the majority of them in your diet. This means incorporating as many such foods into your day to day meals.

You should eat a range of foods containing anti-oxidants to ensure that we are fueling up on the other minerals contained in these foods. There isn’t a single food that stands well above the others but rather a selection of foods which are necessary in order to reduce your free radical content.

Understanding all of this allows us to fill up on the foods required for our activities. In the case of bodybuilding, you need to prevent free radicals forming when you put your body under stress and increase oxygen intake. You will find it difficult to grow your muscles if your body is attacking itself with electron exchanges. Put back some vitality and fuel up on antioxidants, such as blueberries along with other muscle building foods.

Blueberries are one of my personal favorites, but there are others out there that are also very beneficial….Do you have another favorite ‘Antioxidant’ fruit you like? What is it?

Be sure and let me know what you thought of the recipe after cooking it and I’ll be posting more very soon.

Makes 4 Servings
Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts (boneless, 6oz each)
• 1 cup of Salsa
• 1/3 cup of low-fat cheddar
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon of Basil
• 1 teaspoon of Oregano
• 1 diced Green Bell Pepper
• 1 diced Red Bell Pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Lime juice
• Salt and Pepper

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix the salsa, olive oil, garlic, chili powder, basil, oregano, lime juice

2. Cut up chicken. Place the chicken and diced peppers in the mixture, cover and marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight

3. Place chicken mixture in aluminum foil, create pocket, add some of the marinade to keep moist and cook for approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

4. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese before serving

ANTI-OXIDANTS

Coffee is rich in anti-oxidants that prevents oxidation, a process that causes damage to cells and contributes to aging. Anti-oxidants can also be found in most fruits and vegetables such as berries, beans and pecans but these are consumed less frequently as compared to coffee. In fact, a 2005 study found that Americans get more antioxidants from coffee than anywhere else. More than half of adults drink coffee daily, and the average coffee drinker downs about two-three cups each day.

IMPROVED MENTAL PERFORMANCE.

Caffeine in coffee is a well-known stimulant. Coffee promotes alertness, attention and wakefulness. The cup of coffee can also increase information processing.

TOOTH DECAY

A compound in coffee called Trigonelline has anti-adhesive and antibacterial properties, which helps prevent cavities. This is really something new!

PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Regular coffee drinking reduces the risk of Parkinson’s disease. A number of studies published found in The US National Center for Biotechnology Information have demonstrated that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are significantly less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. 6 studies have found that regular (caffeinated) coffee drinkers reduce their risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by as much as 80%. That’s great news, right??

LIVER CIRHOSSIS

Studies have confirmed that drinking coffee may protect against liver cirrhosis, especially alcoholic cirrhosis. The risk for this condition is reduced by 80% with the ingestion of 2-4 cups of coffee each day.

PROSTATE CANCER

In 2009, two coffee studies suggested additional benefits: Coffee-drinking men seemed to have a lower risk of advanced or lethal prostate cancer than other men, and middle-aged people who drank moderate amounts of coffee — three to five cups a day — had the lowest risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life compared to less (or more) frequent drinkers.

However, too much of everything is always never good. So how can you drink coffee in a healthy way? Here are some great healthy coffee drinking tips.

DOSE

Limit your coffee intake to 2 8-oz cups per day. Any more than that is considered as a heavy addict. (I know. I’ve been there).

Listen to Your Body

If you feel restless, heavy palpitations, throbbing headaches, tremors and anxiety, you may be dependent on a lot of caffeine each day. Replace 1 or 2 cups of coffee with green tea instead. Green tea has much less caffeine than coffee and is great for you!

Check Your Coffee Mix

Do not jack up your coffee with sugar, milk, syrup and whip cream (So I guess that means no Starbucks, huh?). Use stevia or xylitol to sweeten and avoid all the empty, harmful calories. A teaspoon of half and half won’t hurt either. Please oh please, do not use any of those flavored creamers.

In my opinion, coffee is great! I love the taste, the aroma and the way it just wakes you up in the morning. The feeling of just being “refreshed” or more like being “revived” after a cup of coffee most definitely brings pleasure and comfort to most of us. I drink about 2 cups every day but of course, too much caffeine is not healthy. There are also some people who are extra sensitive to even small amounts of caffeine. If you wanted to be sure how much caffeine is healthy for you, go ahead and seek your doctor’s advice.

Are you a coffee drinker? Or do you prefer something else? Please share.

The fact of the matter is that if you’re serious about building muscle, you need to be serious about giving alcohol the boot. As much as it may pain you to do this, you have to weigh the pros and cons of every decision you make. Alcohol will have a large influence on your progress, so if you’re not taking this into account and proceed to make unwise decisions, it is going to influence the rate of success you see.

Let’s have a look at what you need to know about alcohol and your muscle building progress.

Alcohol And Testosterone

The very first thing to note is that if you’re drinking alcohol, this is going to cause a drop in your overall testosterone levels. Testosterone is the largest muscle building hormone in the body, so with it at lower concentration levels, you’re going to be building muscle at a much slower rate.

Even just a few drinks a week can have a significant influence on your testosterone level, so this isn’t something to take lightly.

Alcohol And Calorie Intake

Another major issue that revolves around your alcohol intake is the fact that it’s also going to cause you to take in unwanted calories. Not only will you take in the seven calories per gram that’s found in alcohol, but you’ll take in all the calories with whatever mixer you choose to use as well.

Then in addition to this, your will power will also be reduced to say no to foods you really shouldn’t be eating such as wings, pizza, or nuts by the handful, so those calories can really add up as well.

Alcohol And Energy Level

Finally, the third negative aspect of consuming alcohol is the influence it will have on your energy level. If you’re downing a few drinks on any given night, chances are you aren’t going to be performing optimally in the gym the next few days.

This then slows down your rate of progress, making it harder to reach your muscle building goals. If you want to see best results, you need to give 110% each and every session.

Making The Choice

So I’d highly suggest that you make the choice today – how committed are you? Do you want to see the absolute best results possible or are you okay with mediocre results?

Use the following table below as a guideline that illustrates your commitment level and how many drinks would be tolerable per week.

Your Level: General Fitness Improvements
Drink Tolerance per Week: 2 nights/week, 6 drinks per night

Your Level: Weight Loss/Mass Building
Drink Tolerance per Week: 2 nights/week, 1-2 drinks per night

Your Level: Want To Get Lean (sub 10% males, sub 15% females)
Drink Tolerance per Week: 1 night/week, 1-2 drinks per night

Your Level: Want To Be Shredded (attain a bodybuilder-like physique)
Drink Tolerance per Week: Avoid alcohol entirely

So there you have the facts about alcohol consumption and your progress. If you’re really serious about reaching your goals, this is one beverage that you may want to do without.

Don’t get me wrong, I do drink occasionally, I like a good glass of red wine or even an ice cold beer sometimes…especially when you want to socialize with friends, having a glass with friends sometimes is something you really catn avoid, so I keep it in moderation, relax and enjoy…no stressing

This is what I usually do, I stay within the last two levels which is 1 or 2 drinks once a week MAX when I am off season, however when I diet for a show and I want to get shredded I just avoid drinking entirely.

Oh and by the way, if you consider yourself similar to the guy with the tie on his head above, I would strongly reconsider a new hobby other that body transformation, haha. How serious are you in your training? Leave a comment

It can be difficult to decide as you’ll hear mixed opinions coming from both sides.  In order to make the best decision, you should consider a few different factors that will allow you to easily see which variation of workout routine will be best.

Let’s have a look at what you need to know about the full body routine versus the split body routine.

The Full Body Advantage

In many situations, the full body routine will hold a number of important advantages.  First, it only calls for you to be in the gym two or three days per week.  For those who are just starting out or for those who are participating in other sports or want more time for their cardio training, this proves to be an advantage since it frees up your schedule.

Plus, you’ll still maintain a frequency of hitting each muscle two to three times a week, which is imperative for good results.

For those seeking fast fat loss, the full body routine can also be helpful since it’ll burn so many calories.  The more muscles you can work in any given session, the more total calories you are going to burn.

The Split Body Advantage

On the other hand, there are many advantages to a split body routine as well.  First, since you are dividing the body up into upper and lower sections, this allows you to perform a few more exercises total for each muscle group.

For those who do want to zero in and improve one particular muscle, this can prove to be quite the advantage. With a full body workout routine, since you do have to work so many muscle groups in that session, you’re limited with how many exercises you can do.

Another nice thing about the split body routine is that for more advanced trainees, it can help to provide them with the volume they require to see good results.

As you get stronger and more advanced, you will require more overall weight loads being placed on the body and this can be achieved well using the split body workout sessions.

Insane Muscle Assault is a 5 day split workout that pushes you to the limits and increases overall training volume for the intermediate to advanced trainer…this is a great example of a split routine.

Finally, for those who really do like weight lifting and don’t want to devote a lot of time to cardio training, the split body routine will get them into the gym more frequently, but due to the nature of the design, they can still train without worry about overtraining as each muscle group will still have its needed 48 hours of rest.

So there you have the main factors to know about the full body versus the split body workout routine.  The answer as to which is best really depends on your individual situation and personal preferences. No one routine will ever be 100% the best, but rather, you need to match the routine to your needs.

I personally choose to hit one major muscle group per workout and working it to it’s max for that session. I do throw in smaller muscle groups with bigger one’s sometimes but for the most part I divide up my sessions by split body part training.

What are your favorite type of workouts?